Generation Gap
Even before sociologists and demographers focused so much attention on splitting up society into specific generations, the older and the younger among us had our differences.
After all, people want to feel appreciated. And who would know better than those who have been around longer? It’s only natural that the older we get, the more we feel we deserve, and the most distanced we feel from younger people around us who haven’t been through any of the things we’ve been through. Have they even really lived yet? Or have they been freeloading off of all the work their parents, grandparents, and other people have done for them?
From the reverse point of view, things aren’t much different. Young people want to be respected, even if we haven’t had the opportunity to flex our muscles yet and show our worth via all the things we have to offer society. Couple that with the West’s unfortunate trend of “othering” the elderly and you start to see a rift between youthful upstarts and those who feel entitled to reap the benefits of what they believe they alone have worked for and earned.
Far too often, we’ve seen this division come to a head.

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